Takata must rev up air bag replacement effort -U.S. safety officials

DETROIT, Oct 31 (Reuters) - U.S. auto safety officials on
Friday told Japan's Takata Corp to work harder to meet
demand for replacement parts for air bags that could prove
defective in millions of U.S. cars.

On Thursday, Takata agreed to add two production lines to
make more air bag parts. The pledge came at a meeting with the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which said on
Friday that the effort might not be enough.

"It's unclear yet whether that would be sufficient to meet
demand," said NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman in a
statement released Friday evening.

Friedman also said Takata had not yet heeded NHTSA's request
to contact other air bag suppliers to help speed up production
of replacement parts for Takata air bags "due to concern for
quality issues."

A Takata spokesman did not respond immediately to a request
for comment on Friday. On Thursday, Takata spokesman Alby Berman
said the company "is cooperating fully with NHTSA and is working
to meet their requests."

Friedman said NHTSA was "reaching out to other suppliers and
manufacturers to discuss the potential and risks of having those
suppliers provide replacement air bags" on more than 4 million
U.S. cars that have been recalled since June.

NHTSA on Thursday ordered Takata to provide documents and
answer questions under oath related to the government's ongoing
probe of the company's air bags and inflators, which can explode
with excessive force and spray metal shards into vehicle
occupants.

Since 2008, 10 global vehicle manufacturers that use Takata
air bags have recalled more than 10 million cars in the United
States and more than 17 million worldwide to replace inflators
that have been linked to at least four deaths and numerous
serious injuries.

The list continues to grow.

On Friday, NHTSA posted documents covering the recall of
1,848 Infiniti SUVs made by Nissan Motor Co. The 2013
QX56 and 2014 QX80 SUVs are being recalled in the United States
as part of a larger global recall announced on Oct. 23.

The issue, which has also affected vehicles built by General
Motors Co and Honda Motor Co, is the
installation by Takata of an incorrect part in the air bag
inflator that can cause the driver side air bag to rupture.

In June, NHTSA launched its probe of whether Takata air bag
inflators made from 2000 to 2007 were properly sealed or subject
to other defects. It also asked the automakers to recall air
bags in certain regions, such as Florida and Puerto Rico, where
the parts were exposed to higher moisture and humidity that
could cause deterioration of the explosive material inside.

Critics have said Takata and NHTSA have not moved fast
enough on the issue.

On Thursday, lawyers for U.S. consumers asked a federal
judge in Miami to speed up a class action against Takata and
four automakers, saying public safety was at stake.
(Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by
David Gregorio)